Saturday, December 12, 2015

J/24 Sailing Chile's Lily Pads?

J/24 in Chile in mud (Quemchi Harbor, Chile)- A J/24 stuck in the lily pads off the coast of Chile?  You bet, a photo reminiscent of the famous J/41 that ran up onto the sands of Newfoundland on a delivery across the North Atlantic 30 years ago!  Juan Edoardo Reid, the J/Boats Chilean distributor, had this to say about the amusing photo:

“This took place during the Chiloé Circuit Regatta of 2002. The regatta site was in Quemchi, the second town we visit in the coastal circuit after Puerto Montt and Calbuco. Chiloé has very complex tides due to high water differences along the course offshore and the anchoring area in the harbor.  Per Von Appen was sailing the Italian 5223 boat when this happened.  They were the victims of extremely heavy winds (essentially a full gale) that blew away the water during the night while they were anchored in Quemchi harbor!  They needed to wait 4-5 hours for the water to come in again, and they were lucky to float the boat in time to start the next race from Quemchi to Achao and complete the Chiloé Circuit!!